Two BSF men killed in Srinagar attack, weapons snatched

J-K Police said the two BSF men were on naka duty on the outskirts of Srinagar when they were attacked.

The personnel were attacked in Pandach area in Srinagar. (Representational image)

Two BSF personnel were killed and their weapons snatched by militants in the Pandach area on the outskirts of Srinagar on Wednesday.

Officials said Constable Rana Mondal and Constable Jiaul Haque were killed in the attack which took place a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Junaid Sehrai and another militant were killed in a gunfight in Srinagar.

“Two BSF jawans on Naka Duty on the outskirts of Srinagar city at Pandach Chowk were fired upon by 2/3 bike borne militants/youth. One jawan died. The other injured was evacuated to hospital,” a spokesperson for Jammu and Kashmir Police said.

Police sources said the militants snatched the weapons of the two BSF men before fleeing.

Officials said the BSF men were taken to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Soura where both were declared brought dead.

“They had bullet injuries in the head,” said Dr Farooq Jan at the hospital. “Our two men lost their lives in the attack. They were on routine duty when unidentified militants came and attacked them,” a Srinagar-based BSF officer said.

Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy, who was injured after a house collapsed Tuesday evening at the site of the encounter in which the Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed, succumbed to injuries on Wednesday.

He said five persons had been brought to the hospital on Tuesday evening. “The four others are stable,” he said.

On Wednesday, police questioned journalist Fahad Shah over his coverage of the Nawakadal gunbattle. Editor of The Kashmir Walla, Shah was called to the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar to explain the coverage. “They accused me of maligning the police reputation,” he said. Srinagar SSP Dr Haseeb Mughal declined comment on the decision to summon the journalist.